Interview at the Ministry
by CinderellaAtTheBall
Summary: Ludo Bagman has an interview at the Ministry, but his interviewer ends up being difficult to charm.


_Written for Hogwarts Challenges and Assignments - Term 11, Assignment 8: __**Muggle Studies, Task #12: write about someone struggling to be taken seriously. **_

_Word count: 1,191_

_Note: Margaret Bones is an OC but she is related to the canon Bones family._

* * *

**Interview at the Ministry**

Ludo Bagman slid easily into the chair across from the stern-looking witch with steel grey glasses and a severe bun.

"You're late, Mr. Bagman," the witch remarked, peering over her glasses at him.

"Yes, terribly sorry about that," he said cheerfully. "You wouldn't believe the amount of people —"

"Mr. Bagman." By now, the witch looked mildly irritated. "I assure you, I am not interested in the reason for your tardiness."

"Right." Ludo flashed her a friendly smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"I hadn't had a chance to introduce myself," she said dryly. "I'm Margaret Bones. I report to Hamish MacFarlan, who is, as I hope you know, head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

Ludo could deduce from Margaret's tone that she was none too impressed with him thus far. So much for his plan to charm his way through the interview. He really needed this job now that his contract with the Wimbourne Wasps was up, and while he had hoped that a recommendation from family friend Augustus Rookwood would secure his employment, he was beginning to have serious doubts about that. This woman didn't even seem fazed by his status as a former professional Quidditch player. Just his luck.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Margaret," he said, injecting as much warmth into that simple sentence as he possibly could. "And might I say, that is a lovely necklace you have on. You wear it well."

"Let's just get on with the interview, Mr. Bagman." Margaret's tone was downright icy now.

"Jolly good plan, Margaret." He handed her a copy of his resumé, then sat back and waited for her to look over it. It wasn't particularly lengthy, he knew, but he hoped that she would see his potential.

"Hmmm." He watched as her eyes moved quickly down the page. "Curiouser and curiouser," he thought he heard her mutter at one point.

"Everything all right?" he asked, nervousness leaking into his tone.

Margaret looked back up at him, her face an unreadable mask. "Mr. Bagman, why do you feel that you are qualified for this job?"

Ludo cleared his throat and wiped his palms on the front of his Wimbourne Wasps uniform, which suddenly seemed like an unprofessional choice of dress for an interview. "Erm, well, I have a great interest in sports, obviously..."

Margaret took out a quill and wrote something down. Ludo tried to cran his neck and see, but she shot him a reproving look and he immediately stopped.

"Also," he went on hurriedly, "I'm very good with people, very good. Erm, you could say I'm a team player, I suppose." He laughed weakly at his joke — Margaret remained stony-faced.

"Very well," she said, scribbling another note. "How do you deal with conflict?"

"Conflict?" Ludo echoed.

"Yes, Mr. Bagman, conflict. Conflict resolution is an important skill for someone in this position to have." She said this with the air of someone explaining the obvious, and made a quick note afterward.

Ludo frowned, temporarily stumped. He couldn't very well admit that he tended to shy away from volatile situations. "I, erm, I have lots of experience dealing with conflict, you know, from my days on the pitch," he blurted out.

Margaret tilted her head slightly. "Can you be more specific, please? How exactly have you dealt with conflict in the past?" Her quill was poised, ready to write, but she hadn't added anything else to her notes yet.

Ludo licked his lips nervously, trying to decide if it would be best to ask for a moment to think or if that would just make him look even more incompetent and unprepared. He was beginning to seriously regret his lack of planning.

It suddenly occurred to him that he could lie, or at least fudge a few details. Trouble was, Margaret didn't seem like the sort that was easily fooled. Maybe it was best just to be transparent.

"Listen, Margaret," he said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on her desk. "If I can be perfectly honest with you — you look like someone who appreciates honesty — I am not entirely sure how to answer your question."

Margaret raised an eyebrow. "Would you like to skip the question? That would be highly unusual."

"No, no." He was blowing this. It was clear that his interviewer did not think very highly of him despite his status, and all he was doing was proving her right. "Would you be so kind as to ask the question in a different way?"

Margaret reacted to his request with what might have been a strained smile. "I can rephrase, certainly. Can you name a time when you dealt with conflict and explain how you handled it?"

Well, if she only wanted one example, Ludo could handle that. "Of course," he answered smoothly. "The Wimbourne Wasps had just lost to our rivals, the Appleby Arrows, and tensions were running high. Mitch, our captain, was yelling at our Seeker, telling him that he should have spotted the Snitch earlier. Mulligan, the Seeker, was a young fellow — hadn't been with the team long, so he was still a rookie. Anyway, I went over and told Mitch to go easy on the kid." He chanced a look at Margaret, who was nodding as she wrote. "Erm, he didn't take too kindly to that, as I'm sure you can imagine, but at least he stopped yelling at Mulligan."

"Mr. Bagman, let me ask you about a hypothetical situation now, if I may," Margaret said. She adjusted her glasses, then continued. "Suppose you were involved in a more... ambiguous situation. Suppose you walked in on two people arguing, and you had no idea what was going on. What would you do?"

"I would—" Ludo thought for a moment, trying to ascertain the response that would put him in the best light. "I would tell them to stop arguing."

"Is that all?"

"No," Ludo said quickly. "I would, erm, ask them to tell me what was going on."

"Separately, or together?" Margaret prodded.

"Separately," Ludo answered, confident in his choice. "That way I could hear them both out without interruption."

"Excellent," Margaret said briskly, making another note. "Next question: what other skills do you possess that would serve you well in this role?"

The interview continued much like this, with Margaret asking pointed questions and Ludo doing his best to stumble through them. When it wrapped nearly an hour later, he was exhausted from thinking so hard. He also had no idea if his interviewer considered him a serious candidate or not. Still, he gushed about how lovely the whole conversation had been, and gripped her hand firmly as he said goodbye.

"Goodbye, Mr. Bagman," Margaret replied. Her expression gave no clues as to what she was thinking, much to Ludo's dismay. "Someone will be in touch with you soon."

Ludo walked out of the Ministry feeling considerably more relaxed than he had in Margaret's office. His interview was over, and a quick look at the sky revealed perfect flying conditions. He grinned. An afternoon of flying sounded like a blast.


End file.
